Flat sales tax collections again were the largest problem for Butler County’s commissioners as they worked to develop the county’s 2021 budget, a problem they foresee will not get better until a use tax is passed.
“We ended the year (2020) pretty much flat,” said Presiding Commissioner Vince Lampe of the tax revenues. “Our first payment this year is down about $11,000.”
The growth of online shopping, Lampe said, is the primary driver of lower sales tax revenues.
Another funding shortfall seen this year, which carried over from last year, is prisoner reimbursements from the State of Missouri.
A year ago, the state owed Butler County $650,000 in prisoner costs, and while this year that number has shrunk considerably, Lampe said it’s still a significant amount to be without.
“As of December 2020, the state owed us $364,000,” Lampe said.
Despite the funding struggles, Lampe said, each office in the county has worked hard to run efficiently and within its budget.
“As a whole, everybody tries to stay within their means and work together,” he said. “We’ve got some really good elected officials in Butler County.”
A big boost in funding came last May in the form of the CARES Act, which added $4.98 million into the county for COVID-19 related expenses.
Of that initial total appropriated to Butler County from the federal government, $1.52 million remains and is appropriated for 2021.
“We’re still paying for an extra prosecutor and investigator with the CARES money because of the backlog in the courts, and we’re going to have a lot of jury duty when it opens back up,” explained Lampe.
“Our security guards are being paid out of that CARES money. When the money is gone, then we’re gong to have to figure out how to keep our security out there,” added County Clerk Tonyi Deffendall.
The total 2021 county budget, Lampe said, is around $31.6 million, including CARES Act funds, grants and all money passed through his office for administration.
Butler County ended 2020 with $12.06 million cash available after $20.1 million in expenditures. That total includes CARES Act money.
Much of the cash on hand is allocated to special funds, such as the Road and Bridge Fund, Law Enforcement Training Fund, Care of the Handicapped Fund, Special Elections Fund and more.
Of the cash on hand to start 2021, about $2.73 million is in the General Revenue Fund.
The county, Deffendall said, also must, according to statute, set aside 3% of all revenues for an emergency fund.
“We’ve not had to spend it, but we have to set it aside,” she said.
Revenue for 2021, including sales and property taxes, grants and other sources, is estimated at $19.55 million. Added to the cash on hand, the total amount of money available in 2021 is estimated to be around $31.6 million.
Total expenditures for 2021 are estimated at $27.34 million, leaving a projected ending balance at the end of the year of $4.27 million.
The largest portion of the county budget goes to the commission, projected in 2021 to be about $7.65 million.
Included in that total is an estimated $4.45 million for the Highways and Roads Fund, $1.78 million for the Eastern Capital Improvement Fund and $1.72 million for the Western Capital Improvement Fund.
“One good thing is our health insurance didn’t go up this year, and our workman’s comp premium rate went down just a smidge,” Lampe said.
The biggest change to the budget is at the sheriff’s department.
Previously, the department received some funding from the General Revenue Fund and a quarter-cent sales tax, but wasn’t allocated general revenue money in 2021. That’s because the county’s citizens passed an additional quarter-cent sales tax dedicated solely to the sheriff’s department in August.
“The sheriff was getting a quarter cent tax already, and now he’ll get a half cent,” said Deffendall. “It should eventually double what he was last year.”
The 2021 sheriff budget totals nearly $7.18 million, up from $4.05 million a year ago.
The department began the year with almost $844,000 cash on hand and estimates revenues in 2021 to be around $6.06 million. In addition, the department is slated to receive $810,000 in CARES Act funding this year.
Sales tax revenue to the sheriff’s department in 2020 was $1.88 million, but it is expected to grow to $3.6 million in 2021 after the passage of the sales tax last fall.
“He’s upgraded his staff and vehicles considerably,” said Lampe.